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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. bank — for money
  3. last — final
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. season — of the year
  7. content — the amount
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. last — to go on
  10. saw — the tool
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. content — happy
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. land — to come down
  15. deal — to handle
  16. kid — to tease
  17. land — a country
  18. land — ground
  19. season — in sport
  20. bank — for money
  21. bank — of a river
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. last — finally
  24. saw — the tool

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com